


Access Denied

by olgushka



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Burglary, Enemies to Friends, M/M, Minor Injuries, Thief!Josh, Thief!Tyler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 12:53:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15315921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olgushka/pseuds/olgushka
Summary: When two thieves meet in the same house.





	Access Denied

**Author's Note:**

> Russian translation available [**here**](https://ficbook.net/readfic/7124098).

It was supposed to be a night like any other. Another house, another easy money. Easy, because Tyler has done it many times before - always unnoticeably, always successfully, always vanishing before anyone could notice the lack of something valuable.

The house is huge and the living room is the size of his whole apartment but Tyler knows where to go. He knows this place like the back of his own hand, he knows how to navigate around the building after a whole month of watching, researching, making notes.

Exactly twelve seconds pass from the moment he enters through the back door of the house before he stops in front of a big reproduction of _the Birth of Venus_ painting. He quickly takes it off the wall and puts it down on the carpet, careful to avoid making any noise.

He smiles at the sight of the safe with a backlit numeric keyboard. He takes a step closer and reaches out to press the numbers. 

He almost jumps out of his skin when the safe lets out a single beep and the small screen flashes with an angry red color.

_Access denied._

„What?” He whispers to himself.

He frowns and presses the buttons again, this time slower and more carefully: 739698.

The history repeats.

_Access denied._

„Shit.”

It's the right code. It _must be_ the right code. He spent weeks on getting this code right and he's one hundred percent sure he didn't make any mistake. 

Tyler fixes his ski mask and gloves and takes a deep breath. He knows this is his last chance. If he doesn't press the code correctly, the alarm in the whole house will go off. He can't let himself fuck up. 

He stares at the keyboard again but before he can press any buttons, there's a hand sneaking to his face, quickly covering his mouth and a cold barrel of a gun touches his bare neck, right where his mask ends. 

„Well, well, well.” Someone whispers behind his back. „Who do we have here?”

Tyler freezes. He lifts his arms in surrender and exhales steadily. He knows his options: it's either putting up a fight or giving up. It's obvious to him which one is the best to choose.

In one quick move, Tyler hits the guy with his elbow, surprising him. The stranger ends up dropping the gun and it slides on the shiny floor right under the armchair. The rival doesn't give up and he wraps his arm around Tyler's neck, pulling him back. Tyler chokes and loses his balance. He hits the ground, accidentally kicking a small table. The expensive-looking Greek vase wobbles and Tyler's eyes widen but then the stranger's hand catches it at the last second and puts it back in place. He quickly rolls Tyler onto his stomach and sits on his back, skillfully restraining his arms with a thin rope and puts his hand against Tyler’s mouth. 

Tyler can't really see him in the dark but when he turns his head to the side, he can only recognize a mop of messy hair and a bandana wrapped around the man's face. He quickly realizes that it's not the owner or security, it's... another thief. 

„Shh...” The guy hushes him when Tyler lets out another whimper. „We wouldn't want to wake Mr. Jones, would we?” He whispers in Tyler's ear. „Now, I don't know what you're doing here but this is _my_ area and everything in this pretty metal box is _mine_.”

Tyler tries to kick his legs and throw him off himself but the other man turns out to be much stronger and he easily pins him to the floor again. Tyler lets out a short moan of pain when the rope tightens around his wrists. 

„No, no, no. Listen. I'm feeling nice tonight so I will let you go, yeah? You will leave the house the same way you got in, _baby boy_ , and you will let the big guys do the job, yeah?”

Tyler tries to say something but the hand covering his mouth successfully blocks his words. He rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out, trying to lick the stranger's hand. It's disgusting but it works. The man pulls back his hand like he's been electrocuted.

„The code is wrong.” Tyler blurts out once the stranger's hand stops cutting off his air. He takes a deep breath, stops shifting and relaxes underneath him. _If you can't fight them, join them_.

„What are you talking about?” The stranger asks, climbing off Tyler, who sits up with difficulty. His hands are still restrained behind his back.

„We probably have the same code. It's wrong.”

„Right.”

„739698. This is the code you have, right?”

The stranger's head quickly turns in his direction. Even if Tyler managed to catch his attention, he doesn't let it show. He quickly stands up from the floor and approaches the wall.

„Or maybe you're just a loser who can't put the code right.” He snorts with ignorance. 

Tyler watches him inspecting the buttons.

„We have the same password and it doesn't fucking work.” He hisses desperately. His face starts sweating under his ski-mask. He's nervous, for the first time in a long time. He has never failed and now he's gonna fuck up because of some stranger who decided to rob the same house as him. He stands up from the floor and tugs on the rope but the knot is too tight to free his hands. „Dude- I'm serious! _Shit_ , don't do that! The code is-” Before Tyler can finish the sentence, the man quickly enters the code and Tyler swears that the time stops for a nanosecond. And then, the hell breaks loose. „-wrong.” 

The alarm goes off. The safe lets out a loud piercing sound and then things start happening too fast. Tyler feels like in an action movie when everything in the house starts flashing with red lights and the window blinds start slowly rolling down. There's a click of the front door locking and Tyler realizes that they're trapped. He hears the other man curse. He quickly grabs his bag and runs out of the living room, leaving Tyler behind. _I could leave when he told me to_ , he thinks, still standing in the same spot.

Tyler freezes, realizing his situation. He's never been caught and he's gonna be caught now and he will spend the rest of his life in prison. This is not what he had planned but he must admit: the security system in Mr. Jones' house is on point.

Before he can drown in his self-pity and let the panic attack overwhelm his body, someone grabs his shoulders, turns him around and cuts the rope with a pocket knife. The stranger grabs his hand and drags him to the hallway.

„Come on!” He yells over the loud alarm. „I've been here before! Stop standing here like an idiot! Come on, follow me!”

The lights in the living room turn on and the voices of the owners echo upstairs. Tyler notices a mess of red hair but before he can focus on the other man's face, he's feeling himself being led through the house.

The man drags him to the back of the house and makes him duck behind the wall between a small renaissance table and a chest of drawers. He peeks from around the corner and watches the owners who run down the stairs and into the living room. When they approach the safe, the man takes Tyler's hand again.

„Come on! Quickly!” He whisper-shouts and leads Tyler upstairs. They stumble on the stairs at the same time but they find their balance again and start running even faster. „Go, go, go! This way!”

Tyler has never been this confused. Just two minutes ago the stranger was ready to knock him out for trying to rob the same house as him and now he tries to show Tyler the way out of this trap. He doesn't even know how and when it happens but then suddenly they're in the attic and the man points to the wooden ladder and a small window. He starts climbing and tells Tyler to follow him. They end up on the roof. 

The other man is quite fit. He doesn't even seem to lose his breath when Tyler already feels a sharp pain in his lungs. He keeps following the man and when they stop on the lowest part on the roof, Tyler watches with wide eyes as the stranger throws his backpack to the ground and jumps from the roof without thinking twice. Tyler hesitates.

„What the hell are you waiting for?” The stranger hisses. 

„It's too high!”

„Dude, the police is coming! Hurry the hell up!”

 _Fuck_ , Tyler thinks but jumps too. He was right to be scared of the height because the moment his feet touch the ground, his ankle twists and something _cracks_. He rolls onto his side, holding his leg and moaning in pain. 

„Are you fucking kidding me right now?” The stranger mumbles angrily but helps Tyler stand up, pulling him up by the collar of his jacket. His ankle hurts and tears start to gather in his eyes but he manages to limp through the garden and the man helps him climb over the fence. 

He takes off his bandana and fixes his hair. He snatches Tyler's ski mask from his head and throws everything inside his backpack.

„Act normal.” He says and starts walking down the street. They're not too far from Mr. Jones' house when the first police car drives right next to them with the loud sirens on and another one appears a few seconds later. His ankle is throbbing but the adrenaline level in his veins is still high so he pushes through the pain and tries not to bring any attention to himself. A bile starts forming in his throat but then the stranger's voice snaps him out of his panic. „Get in.”

„W-what?” He asks, blinking at the sight of a silver Honda. 

„Get in.” The man repeats and slides into the driver's seat. Tyler climbs onto the passenger's seat and exhales.

„Has no one ever warned you not to enter the same river twice?” He asks, slowly catching his breath. He pushes the seat back and straightens his leg, trying to take some pressure off his swelling ankle.

„Huh?”

„You said you've been in that house before.” Tyler clarifies. „Entering the same house twice brings a bad luck.”

„Yeah. I can see it now.” The stranger mumbles but starts the car. „Buckle up.”

Tyler does and finally turns to look at him properly. The lights of the street lamps let him deduce that the stranger is probably in his late-twenties, so they're the similar age. His damaged red hair sticks in every possible direction but a few locks fall on his forehead, almost covering his red eyes. Tyler frowns.

„Dude, are you wearing make-up?” He blurts out before he can stop himself. The man glares at him before focusing on the road again.

„Only when I'm _working_. You have a problem with that?”

„No, I mean... It looks sick. Ow! Ow, fuck!” He yells and squeezes his eyes shut when one of the tires meets a pothole and the car shakes, hurting Tyler's foot. „Oh, motherfucker!” He bends over and rests his forehead against the dashboard.

„Are you okay?”

„Do I look like I'm fucking okay?” Tyler growls and bites his own fist.

The conversation ends. They drive in complete silence for a quite long time before the man pulls up on the empty parking lot near some random restaurant. He kills the engine, reaches for his backpack and takes out a pack of baby wipes. He cleans his face, getting rid of the red eyeshadow and gets out of the car without a word, slamming the door shut on his way out. He jogs through the parking lot and disappears inside the building. 

Tyler watches him through the windshield with slightly parted lips. It's weird. The whole situation is weird and Tyler starts wondering if this is some kind of a sign that his _career_ should end. 

He sighs in defeat and rests his head on the dashboard again. He closes his eyes and tries to breathe through the annoying pain. 

He almost jumps out of his skin when the passenger door suddenly opens and the stranger looks at him, holding a paper cup in his hand. Before Tyler can ask what is he doing, he unzips his backpack and takes out his bandana. 

„Show me your foot.” He says. He tells Tyler to turn around and sit with his right leg stretched out. When Tyler obeys, the man kneels on the ground. 

Tyler swallows nervously and grits his teeth when the stranger takes off his shoe and sock. He puts the bandana on the ground and spills the contents of the cup - ice-cubes - in the middle of the cloth. He quickly wraps everything up and presses it to Tyler's ankle. 

„Ow! Ow!” Tyler hisses and tries to escape the touch but the man holds his foot in place.

„I'm sorry. It will get better in a few minutes. Just don't move.” He says gently, focusing on the ice-pack. Another few minutes of silence follows. The ice slowly melts and the water drips from the cloth but at least it doesn't hurt that much anymore. Tyler focuses on breathing when the man still kneels before him, holding his foot. „You should see the waiter's face.” He starts talking again and Tyler almost jumps at the sound of his voice in the deadly quiet parking lot. „ _What can I get you, sir?_ Just a cup full of ice-cubes, thanks.”

Tyler giggles.

„What's your name?” He asks.

„Josh.”

„I'm Tyler.”

„Nice to meet you, Tyler.”

Tyler doesn't know why but it sounds so funny that he bursts out laughing. He can't stop the laughing fit and Josh stares at him with a frown.

„What are you laughing at?”

„Nothing. Just... _Nice to meet you_. I just- God. I'm so fucking tired.” He chuckles, rubbing his hands over his face. He glances at his watch and shakes his head when he notices it’s three o’clock in the morning. „Nice to meet you too, Josh. I wish it was under different circumstances but still. And thanks for saving my ass earlier.”

„Yeah. Don't mention it.”

„No, seriously. Why did you help me?”

„I don't know.” Josh shrugs and lowers his gaze again. The ice melts completely but the bandana still feels nicely cool so Josh wraps it around Tyler's ankle and leaves it like that. „I'm just too soft, I guess.”

„Too soft? Dude, you had _a gun_ pressed to my head. Too soft my ass.”

„It wasn't a real gun, you idiot.” Josh snorts and stands up, dusting off his pants.

„It wasn't.” Tyler repeats dumbly.

„Of course not. I've never killed anyone and I don't plan to. Anyway, the gun was...” Josh's voice trails off in the middle of the sentence, he looks up at Tyler and Tyler stares back at him with a terrified expression on his face, realizing one important thing.

„The gun!” They shout at the same time.

The fake gun with Josh's fingerprints because the idiot didn't wear any gloves. The fake gun lying under the armchair in a millionaire's mansion. The mansion that's probably being searched by police as they speak.

„I gotta go.” Josh says, grabbing his backpack from the backseat. „I have a flight to catch.”

„Wait, what?” Tyler stares at him with wide eyes. „But... The car!”

„It's not my car.” Josh shrugs, throws Tyler the key and salutes him. He turns on his heel and starts walking away. 

Tyler sighs and sinks back in the seat. He looks around the empty parking lot and rubs his hands over his face again. _So this is where it ends_. 

He thinks about his options. He can't drive but he also can't stay in the car. It's stolen so it's only a matter of time before the cops show up out of nowhere and arrest him. He needs to get back to his apartment but he doesn't know where he is and after checking his pockets, he realizes that he doesn't have any money for a taxi. 

„Fuck.” He says to himself but tries to climb out of the car. The pain in his leg is back and his eyes get watery.

„Tyler?” Josh's voice rings behind his back so he turns to look at him. He's standing a few feet away with his backpack hanging carelessly from his shoulder. „How does Spain sound to you?”

„Spain?” Tyler repeats in confusion.

„Yeah. Spain.” Josh doesn't move from his spot. He puts his hands inside the back pockets of his jeans and starts rocking back and forth on his heels. 

Tyler swallows but stands up straight and fixes his jacket. He closes the passenger door and leans his back against the car. 

„I don't know.” Tyler shrugs. „I've always wanted to go to Norway.”

„What about a trip around Europe then?” Josh quirks his eyebrow and Tyler laughs shortly. 

„What makes you think that I would want to go anywhere with you?”

„I could use some company.” The man says. Tyler snorts and shakes his head. He looks around, trying to decide where he should go. „I think we would make a great team. We could be _partners in crime._ ”

Tyler laughs.

„You’re a funny guy.”

„Am I?”

„Yeah.” 

„So, what do you say?” Josh asks. Tyler turns his head when he hears police sirens in the distance. He gets tired of supporting his whole weight on one foot and he almost falls to the ground but Josh reacts fast enough, stepping closer and pulling him to his side. He throws Tyler’s arm over his shoulders. „I’m also kinda responsible for your injury and I would feel really bad leaving you behind when you’re hurt.”

„Oh. How nice of you.”

„Tyler. I’m serious. Does anything… or anyone – keep you here?”

„Not really.” Tyler sighs and grimaces in pain. „I need some ibuprofen.”

„I will give you some if you come with me.”

„That didn’t sound suspiciously at all.”

„I don’t have any bad intentions.”

„You had _a gun_ pressed to my head.” Tyler teases and Josh rolls his eyes.

„You’re such a pain in the ass.” He says but starts leading them away from the car. 

„I will show you a real _pain in the ass_.” Tyler mumbles under his breath but holds onto Josh and limps with him down the street.

„Is that a promise?” Josh smirks and Tyler blushes. 

He didn’t expect Josh to hear it but he quickly recovers from his embarrassment and looks up bravely.

„Take me to your fucking Europe, Romeo, and I will see what I can do.”

„Fine. You're stuck with me now.” Josh says. „We're wanted and on the run.”

„We're wanted and on the run.” Tyler repeats but nods. „Oh, dear God. What have I gotten myself into.”


End file.
